Sheet feeding mechanism with rotary feed fingers and magnetic elevating means



w... am-w July 30, 1957 J. E. SOCKE 2,301,103

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM WITH ROTARY FEED FINGERS AND MAGNETIC ELEVATING MEANS Filed Feb. 11, 1954 4 Sheets-$heet 1 IN V EN TOR.

JOHN E. SOC KE ATTORNEYS July 30, 1957 SQCKE 2,801,103

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM WITH ROTARY FEED FINGERS AND MAGNETIC ELEVATING MEANS Filed Feb. 11, 1954 4. Sheets-Sheet 2 x 5 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS July 1957 J. E. SOCKE 2,801,103

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM WITH ROTARY FEED FINGERS AND MAGNETIC ELEVATING MEANS Filed Feb. 11, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 saw 7] 7/ if I 7 INVENTOR.

JOHN E. SOCKE BY e'aw/r?%ilm ATTORNEYS y 1957 J. E. socK 801,103

HANISM E SHEET FEEDING WITH ARY FEED F'I ERS AND GNETIC ELEVAT MEANS Filed Feb. 11, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 JNVENTOR.

JOHN E. SOC KE BY M kfim agm/lfi wav wmiw ATTORNEYS SHEET FEEDING MECHANESM WITH ROTARY FEED FINGERS AND MAGNETIC ELEVATING MEANS John E. Socke, ielham Manor, N. Y., assignor to Ameri can Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 11, 1954, Serial No. 409,737

8 Claims. (Cl. 27151) The present invention relates to a sheet feeding mechanism and has particular reference to cooperating roller finger devices for feeding sheets along a predetermined path of travel.

An object of the instant invention is the provision of an improved sheet feeding mechanism wherein sheets at rest may be gently set in motion and rapidly accelerated along a path of travel without nicking or otherwise damaging the sheet edges.

Another object is the provision of such a sheet feeding mechanism wherein a gentle, fast movement of the sheets may be efiected so that sheets advancing in spaced and timed processional order along one path of travel may be rapidly diverted individually along another path of travel without interfering with the advancement of the procession of sheets.

Another object is the provision of such a sheet feeding mechanism wherein a sheet being diverted is elevated above the feed levels of the procession of sheets so as to permit of advancement of a following sheet while the leading sheet is being diverted so as to expedite the ad vancement of sheets through the mechanism.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a fragmentary part of a sheet feeding machine embodying the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken substantially along the line 33 in Fig. 1, with parts broken away;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged transverse sectional views taken substantially along the lines 44, 55 in Fig. 1, with parts broken away; and

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged schematic views showing principal parts of the mechanism in different positions as an incident in feeding a sheet.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate principal parts of a conventional can body making machine of the character disclosed in United States Patent 1,770,041 issued July 8, 1930 to John F. Peters on Roll Bodymaker, to which the instant feeding mechanism may be applied.

In such a can body making machine, rectangular shaped sheet metal blanks or sheets A from which can bodies are made, are advanced sidewise in spaced and timed processional order in an intermittent of step-by-step movement along a straght line path of travel through a notching station and thence into a cross-feed station B (Fig. 1). At the cross-feed station E the sheets, as they arrive, are fed by a feeding mechanism C, endwise, at right angles to their former processional path of travel, along another path of travel into a rolling or take away station r 2,801,103 Patented July 30, 1957 D where the sheets are individually rolled into tubular can body shape around a mandrel or horn E for further advancement and treatment along said horn. v

Advancement of the sheets A sidewise in processional order toward and into the cross-feed station B is effected by a pair of spaced and parallel reciprocable feed bars 11 (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) which carry spring held depressible feed dogs 12 for propelling engagement against the rear side edges of the sheets. The feed bars 11 are slidably mounted in a pair of spaced and parallel longitudinal grooves 14 formed in a slide block 15 mounted on a horizontal table 16 of a frame 17 which constitutes the main frame of the can body making machine.

Reciprocation of the feed bars 11 through a feeding stroke (toward the right in Figs. 1 and 3) and thence through a return stroke (toward the left in the same figures) is effected by an upright rocker arm 21 (Fig. 3) which at its lower end is mounted on a rocker shaft 22 carried in bearings formed in the main frame 17. The upper end of the rocker arm 21 is connected by a link 24 to a depending lug 25 of a tie plate 26 which is secured to the underside of both of the feed bars 11 and ties them together for reciprocation in unison.

Intermediate its length, the rocker arm 21 is connected by a connecting rod 28 (see also Fig. 4) to a crank shaft 29 journalled in bearings 31 which depend from the table 16. The crank shaft 29 is continuously rotated in time with the other moving parts of the machine in any suitable manner, such as disclosed in the above mentioned Peters Patent 1,770,041, to advance the sheets in timed processional order.

The sheets A advanced by the feed dogs 12 of the reciprocating feed bars 11', are supported in a horizontal position and are retained in processional alignment by a pair of spaced and parallel suporting guide rails 33, 34 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) which are disposed on opposite sides of the feed bar slide block 15 adjacent the outer end edges of the path of travel of the sheets. These supporting guide rails 33, 34 are secured to the top of the table 16. The supporting faces of the rails are flush with the top faces of the feed bars 11 so as to support the sheets intermediate their outer edge portions as well as adjacent their outer edges to retain the sheets in a horizontal position.

A sheet A advanced by the feed bars 11 into the crossfeed station B is received on a support block 36 (Figs. 1, 3 and 5) mounted on the top of the table 16. The top surface of the block is flush with the sheet supporting faces of the feed bars 11 and the guide rails 33, 34. A stop bar 37 carried on top of the support block 36 locates the sheet in endwise alignment with the sheet rolling station D.

Cross-feeding of the sheet A into the rolling station D as hereinbefore mentioned is effected in time with the advancement of the sheet into the cross-feed station B, preferably as soon as the feed bars 11 have completed their feeding stroke and the sheet is briefly at rest at the cross-feed station. This cross-feeding of the sheet at right angles to their previous patch of travel i effected by a pair of continuously operated rotary lower and upper feed elements 41, 42 (Figs. 1, 2 and 5) which are disposed at the cross-feed station E, adjacent the path of travel of the sheets on the side opposite to the rolling station D, so that a sheet temporarily at rest at the crossfeed station is disposed between the feed elements 41, 42 and the rolling station.

The feed element 41 is disposed below and clear of the path of travel of the sheets and inwardly of the adjacent outer edge of this path as best shown in Fig. 5. The element is mounted on a continuously rotating shaft 44 disposed parallel with the sheet guide rail 34 and 3 journaled in a pair of spaced bearings in a bearing bracket 46 secured to the table 16 adjacent the outer end of the sheet support 36. The shaft 44 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (as viewed iuFig jl and in time with the feedbars 11', one revolution of the shaft for each complete feeding stroke 'of the -feed bars, by a bevel gear 48 (Fig. l) which is carried on the shaft and meshes with and isvdn'ven by a bevel gear 49 carried on a driye shaft 51. The drive shaft 51 is journaledin a pair of spaced' bearing brackets52 secured to the table 16 and is. driven by an endlesschain 54 which operates over a sprocket 55 on the shaft 51 and over a sprocket.

56 on the "crank shaft 29.

. The feedelement 42 is disposed above and clear of the path of travel of the sheets and inwardly of the outer edge of the path a distance substantially less than the inward location of the cooperating feed element 41 so 'that the upper element is slightly offset or out of aligninent with' the lower' element; This upper feed element '42 is mounted On a shaft J SS whichis parallel with the lower feed element shaft and is journaledin bearings '59 formed in the. bearing bracket 46. The shaft 58 is rotated continuously in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 5) and in time with the lower feed element shaft 44, but at half the speed (one half revolution per sheet),

. edgeof the sheet and cooperate to efiectthe feeding of a sheet A at the cross-feedstation B into the rolling stationD. The lower feed element 41 is provided with two laterally spaced and aligned feed fingers which function as a single finger while the upper feed element flZis provided with two diametrically opposed fingers 66 I which function separately and which are adapted to pass between the two laterally spaced fingers 65 on the lower feed element 41. f 1 f The feed fingers '65, 66 'on'th e feed elements 41, 42 are synchronized to rotate into feeding action against the adjacentfouterend edge of a sheet A at rest at the cross-feed station. B to gently start or initially set the sheet in motion and then accelerate the sheet into the rolling station D. In operation, one of the slow moving fingers 66 rotates toward the edge ofthe sheet A and engages the sheet edge in the notch 70 of the finger as shown in Fig. 5 and thus. gently starts, to ,push the sheet endwise, at an angle of degrees. to its former path of 'travel, toward the rolling orttake away station D. This starting action takestpl'a'ce while the finger 66 swings downwardly through an arc under the feeding element 42.

During this sheet starting or movement initiating action, the downwardly moving finger 66 presses the marginal edge portion of the sheet down and thus pivots the sheet on the outer edge of the. support block 36. This action lifts the remote free end of the sheet upwardly against a magnet bar 72 containing a plurality of short cylindrical permanent magnets 73 which energizes the barand attracts the sheet to it as best shown-in, Fig. 6. The magnet bar is disposed at the cross-feed station B, above the path of travel of the sheets into the station,

' and is ,supportedon a bracket 74 (Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5) secured to the support block 36. This lifting of the sheet above the'normal path oftravel of the sheets into the cross-feed station B clears the support block 36 for '-the reception of the next sheet in the procession before the sheet being cross-fed is entirely out of' the station and thereby facilitates high speed feeding of the sheets through the machine.

By the time the finger 66 of the upper feed element 42 is engaging and initially setting the sheet at the crossfeed station in motion, the fingers 65 of the lower feed element 41, which rotate twice as fast as the fingers 66, rotates into position adjacent the fingers 66 as best shown in Fig. 6 and pick up and take over the moving sheet from the finger 66 and thereby accelerates the speed of the sheet. These rotating fingers65 push the sheet gently along the under face of the magnet bar 72 and thus advance the sheet toward the rolling station D.

The rolling station D is closely adjacent the inner end edge of the sheet A at the cross-feed station B, so that sheets can readily enter the cross-feed station without interfering with the rolling station but also so that the cross-feeding of the sheet need be only of short duration which is 'within the range of the feed fingers 65 of the lower feeding element 41. In this portion of the crossfeed operation the fingers 65 shift the sheet just far enough to engage the inner end edge of the sheet into the bite of a pair of conventional cooperating sheet rolling or take away rollers 76, 77 of the type disclosedin the above mentioned Peters patent. These rollers rotate rapidly and quickly feed the sheet around the horn E as explained in the Peters patent. This rapid sheet rolling action strips the sheet off the magnet bar 72 and simultaneously drawsthe outer end edge of the sheet away from and out of the range of the feed fingers 65 of the lower feed element 41 as shown in Fig. 8, to permit the fingers 65 torotate down under the feed element for a subsequent sheet accelerating action. This completes the cycle of operation of the feeding mechanism.

' ant advantages will be understood'from the foregoing do scription, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof;

I claim: V

1. In a sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a support for a sheet to be fed, a rotary feeding finger disposed adjacent and above the top of said support and engageable against an edge of a sheet on said support for partially advancing the'sheet along a'path of travel, a second rotary feeding finger disposed adjacent said first mentioned finger and below thetop of said support, said second finger being engageable with said'edge of said sheet for accelerating the sheet along its path of travel, means for rotating said fingers in timed relation, means for elevating said advancing sheet slightly above the top of said support, and means for retaining said advancing elevated sheet in its elevated relation to facilitate reception of a subsequent sheet on said support before said advancing sheet is fully advanced.

2. In a sheet feeding mechanism of the character defined in claiinl wherein the sheet elevating means is provided on said rotary feeding fingers.

3. In a sheet feeding mechanism of the character defined in claim 1 wherein magnet means disposed adjacent the top of said'support is provided to retain said advancing elevated sheet in its elevated relation.

4. In a sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of means for feeding sheets in spaced and timed processional order along a predetermined path of travel into a crossfeed station,a support at said'cross-feed station for re" ceiving and supporting individualsheets at rest, take away devices disposed at said cross-feed station adjacent one side of the path of travel of said sheets into said station, cross-feed means disposed at said station adjacent the opposite side of the path of travel of said sheets into said station, said cross-feed means including an upper rotary feeding finger and a cooperating lower rotary feeding finger, said fingers being engageable successively with an edge of a sheet advanced into position on said support for gently initiating and rapidly accelerating a crossfeed movement of said sheet along a different path of travel disposed at an angle to its path of travel into said station for feeding said sheet into said take away devices, and actuating means for rotating said fingers in timed relation with each other and with the advancement of said sheets into said station.

5. In a sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a support for a sheet, sheet take away means adjacent said support for receiving and withdrawing said sheet from the support, a sheet feeding device adjacent said support and opposite said take away means for engaging one edge of said sheet and advancing the opposite edge thereof into said take away means, means for elevating and retaining said sheet above said support during said advancement of the sheet, and a second sheet feeding means for inserting another sheet between said support and said elevated sheet and for locating said inserted sheet on the support for subsequent elevation and advancement to said take away means.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said sheet elevating means includes a portion of a rotary finger disposed above said support and rotatable into engage- 6 ment with a sheet for depressing one end of the sheet below the surface of said support thereby to elevate the opposite end of the sheet above said surface.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said sheet feeding device includes said rotating finger disposed above the support for elevating the sheet, said finger also initiating advancement of the sheet, a second rotary finger disposed below said support for engaging the depressed edge of the sheet and further advancing the sheet toward said take away means, and means for rotating said second finger faster than said first mentioned finger to efiect acceleration of the sheet.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said second finger is offset inwardly of said first mentioned finger for taking over the partially advanced moving sheet from said first mentioned finger and for accelerating said sheet along its path toward the sheet take away device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,547,964 Nordquist Apr. 10, 1951 

